101 Days and 100 Nights
by MaekoLovesPandas
Summary: AU: A thought is triggered when Team Natsu leaves Lucy behind to go on a difficult mission. Though the members were simply being thoughtful, she knew that either way, she was too weak to keep up with their level of strength. Depressed, the master sent her and 3 S-Class mages to Fairy Tail's Exclusive 100 Nights of Training. Now, 100 nights later, how strong is Lucy, really? #2
1. The Beginning and the End

**STOP!** Before you start reading, please read this! This fanfiction are for people that do not like Lucy being...utterly weak. She has lots way too many fights that I will, of course, re-write. If you are not happy with Lucy being OOC, than please turn back now. If you want Lucy to be serious at times like other female mages in Fairy Tail, than please read further. And please, this is _my_ opinion. I personally, do not like Lucy being so weak. If you are going to argue and say that Lucy _is_ strong, than that's your opinion. Everyone has different opinions and you should respect other people's opinions as well. And _not_ try to force your opinion on them.

Thank you.

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**A/N: **Oh gosh. I sound so mean and serious above. LOL. Anyways, this is my second fanfiction here on this website so I hope you go easy on me! I'm not going to talk about myself because that's what my profile is for. ^-^ Feel free to review and tell me what you think! Remember to read the above note before you start reading! Enjoy, **101 Days and 100 Nights**!

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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail!**

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**Please be aware of:**

- Bad Words

- Perverted Moments

- OOC moments from a few characters

- This takes place before the 7-year gap and Wendy & her cat has not yet been introduced.

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**CHAPTER 1: The Beginning and the End**

**Written by: MaekoLovesPandas**

**Words: 3,700**

**Date Released: July 20, 2012**

It was a beautiful, bright day in the land of Fiore, where Fairy Tail, the strongest guild, resided. Birds were singing, people were happily greeting each other when they passed and markets were selling well.

But, even with the supreme customary of the citizens, if stepped foot inside of Fairy Tail, you would find that all peace inside you will tear.

Yup. That sounded about right for the guild of Fairy Tail.

"Say that again, you squinty-eyes!" A half-naked mage shouted, his face pressed against another mage that he so-called, 'squinty-eyes'.

"Can't you listen when someone says something once, droopy-eyes!" 'Squinty-eyes shouted back, his hair literally on fire.

"You want to go at it, fireboy?" 'Droopy-eyes' replied, backing up and getting into a stance in which an ice-blue, magic circle appeared.

"I knew it would come down to this!" The mage smirked and said, as his hand lit on fire.

As Fairy Tail was loudly having their 3rd fight of the day, throwing things and almost killing each other (as usual), they didn't notice the large doors open until one of their guild members were thrown right through the guild, the mage crashing towards the wall.

"Hey, who the hell di-" Elfman started to shout but abruptly stopped when he saw the person by the door.

Everyone gulped as they turned to see - a mage whose eyes were blazing red, the colour equivalent to her hair.

"E-Erza." Gray squeaked out, 10 tones higher.

"Ulla, ulla," Mirajane said from behind the bar counter, smiling. "This fight was quite short-lived."

"YOU DAMN BASTARDS!" Erza bellowed, changing her armor to Purgatory Armor, an armor known for its immense offense, and glared at the troublemakers, who all sweat-dropped.

"Now, now Erza." Master started. "Purgatory Armor is a bit too much, don't you think? You'll really kill them."

But Erza ignored her master completely as she jumped, advancing to attack the paralyzed mages below.

"Oh dear." The master replied at her actions but casually sipped his coffee.

"E-erza!" Wakao stuttered from below. "W-we're nakama, aren't we! Nakamas don't k-kill each other!"

"A-aye!" A flying blue cat (yes, a flying blue cat) nodded furiously and exclaimed.

"YOU. GUYS. ARE. TOO LOUD!" She shouted as she overwhelmed them with power, clearing out the whole dining hall.

When the smoke finally cleared, all the mages that were once thrilled to fight, was piled on top of each other, stars appearing above their heads.

"I've been hearing complaints from the citizens from all aroundwhile I was coming over here." Erza said. "It's a beautiful day and it should not be bothered." She was sitting on a chair by the bar; the only chair unharmed, and sipped her tea. She changed back to her usual armor and blue-skirt. "Keep your voice down or I won't show any mercy next time, do you understand?" She concluded as she glared.

"Y-yes." All the members squeaked out.

Erza nodded in approval.

Yup. Something like this sounds about right for the guild of Fairy Tail.

A few hours after the mages finished bandaging each other up (which Erza showed no guilt to, whatsoever), a certain rose-haired mage was loud and about.

"Let's go on a job!" He said to his partner and pal, Happy.

"Aye, sir!"

"Shall we all go, then?" A voice said from behind.

"Erza!" Happy exclaimed.

"It's been a while since we've last gone anyways. Good thinking, Natsu." Erza complimented. "We should bring Gray, as well."

"Bring me on what?" Gray, who was nicknamed 'droopy-eyes' previously, said. "Are we going on another mission?"

"Aye!"

"Sure. Let's go right now." He shrugged and said. "Nothing better to do."

"Let's do this one!" Happy suddenly took out a request from the board and held it up.

"Wait, where's Lucy?" Natsu frowned and asked as the pretty blonde was nowhere to be seen.

"She already went home." Mirajane, who was drying the cups behind the bar counter, answered. "She said she was tired and wanted to rest."

"I'll go get her!" Natsu chirped up and said, happily walking towards the door. Unfortunately, a hand tugged on his scarf, stopping him on the spot.

"No." Gray, who was the one that stopped him, exclaimed. "We'll have to do this mission without her."

"What?" The fire-mage jumped up declared, his smile dropping. "What do you mean, 'without her'? She's part of our team!"

"You're taking this the wrong way, Natsu." Gray replied, looking sternly at the angry mage. "I'm not talking about leaving her behind just because she's not here. Didn't you hear Mira? She said that Lucy was _tired_ and _wanted to rest_."

"She'll be fine as soon as she comes on the job with us!" Natsu countered.

"I must also agree with Gray here, Natsu." Erza stepped up and said.

"What?" The fire-mage shouted.

"Listen." She said, about to explain. "Though I do not agree with leaving a teammate behind, Lucy is tired. She should rest for today."

"If I ask her, she'll gladly come with us!"

"And that's the problem, Natsu." Gray pointed out. "She never refused you. _Ever._ She's too kind to refuse. I know that, you know that, and we all know that. No matter how bad of a day she's having or how tired she is, she'll still comes with us."

"Aye…" Happy said. "We should do this one job without her."

"Happy? You too?" Natsu hollered out.

"B-but we should think about _her_ for a change." He explained.

Natsu looked at his teammates with disbelief but finally gave in. They _did _have a point.

"I guess we have no choice." He growled out.

Before Team Natsu (– 1) left the guild, Natsu turned to Mira.

"Make sure you explain to her properly, Mira!" He shouted. "I don't want her getting the wrong idea!"

"Come back safely, Natsu!" Mira waved and said.

And they were off.

* * *

The next morning when Lucy walked through the doors of Fairy Tail, she did not see the familiar dragon-slayer mage with his flying cat greeting her. Nor did she see a half naked ice-mage or even the strict mage wearing an armor sipping tea.

When Lucy walked over to the bar and sat down, Mira offered her a drink of juice.

"Where's everyone?" Lucy asked.

"They went on a job last evening."

Lucy almost choked on her drink. "They what?"

"Now, now. Just listen." Mira smiled and said. "They were about to drop by your house to pick you up but thought that they would bother you since you were tired."

"So they went without even telling me?" She replied, hurt.

"They were thinking a lot about you, Lucy," Mira said sympathetically. "They wanted to do what was best for you."

"It was good you didn't go on that mission, though." A girly voice behind them announced.

"Levy-chan!" Lucy greeted as soon she saw the blunette with glasses.

"It's a really scary mission, Lu-chan!" Levy started. "It's been on the request board for months! Lots of teams here went but none could finish it. A mage from another guild even died during it. We should leave it to Natsu, Erza, and Gray to finish it. It would've been really dangerous for you."

Lucy's eyes slightly widened.

"They still said they would split the reward, Lucy." Mira said. "They purposely chose a dangerous one so the reward would be big. You didn't pay for your rent this month, right?"

"See, Lu-chan?" Levy smiled and said. "You have nothing to lose! And if something happened to you… Well! I'm just glad you're not with them!"

Lucy was touched by Levy's sincerity and smiled.

"Thank you, Levy-chan!" She said. But even though Levy tried to make her feel better by explaining how difficult the mission was, it wasn't doing much. She couldn't help but think,

_Am I really that much of a burden? If I was there, they would have chosen an easier one. They would never choose a dangerous one if I was there… Is it because I'm too weak? That I let them down? _

Days passed but Team Natsu still hasn't returned.

Lucy, who was running quite low on jewels, decided to go on a simple, solo mission.

But the very morning Lucy left, Team Natsu finally returned.

"LUCY! WE'RE BACK!" Natsu greeted the guild as soon as he opened the door.

"Welcome back!" Mira greeted back. "Lucy just left on a solo mission this morning. You'll have to wait until tonight to see her again."

"Which job did she take?" Gray asked.

"Don't worry. It's an easy one." Mira assured him. "You don't have to go after her."

"I guess we should wait." Erza said as she sat down to drink.

After dinner, the guild door opened and Lucy came back.

"Lucy!" Happy exclaimed as he flew over to the blonde and hugged her from her boobs.

"Oh, you guys are back!" Lucy said happily as she pet the blue cat.

"Welcome back, Lucy!" The guild members greeted with a smile.

"Lucy!" Natsu said, as he motioned Lucy to come sit with the rest of the team members by the bar. "How was your job?" He asked when she sat down.

"Good!" She said. "How was yours?"

"I must say, it was a tough mission." Erza nodded as she answered. "I had quite a difficult time bringing out 250 swords with my Heaven Wheel's armor."

Lucy's jaws dropped.

"And I used so much ice that my hands are blistered," Gray said and held his hands up, which was, indeed, red and marked with blisters. "See?"

"You guys are just too weak!" Natsu said. "It was a piece of cake!"

"Even you had a hard time, Natsu, don't lie," Happy replied, flying beside him. "You see, Lucy, Natsu ran out of magic power once so he had Erza make an explosion to eat the fire. It was a big hassle."

"Happy!" Natsu whined. "You're not supposed to tell her that!"

Lucy's eyes widened, ignoring Natsu's and Happy's argument.

_It would've been really dangerous for you, Lu-chan! _Lucy remembered what Levy said.

_If…if all of them had a hard time… I wouldn't have stood a chance. _She thought grimly. _We're really in different levels…_

"Lucy? You okay?" Gray asked.

Lucy shook her head and smiled. "Yeah, sorry, I was just dozing off."

"Now, now, Lucy just came back from a mission and so have the rest of you. You guys should all call it a night." Mira said, smiling.

As if on cue, Natsu yawned.

"I guess we should go, Happy." He said.

"Aye." His blue cat replied, rubbing his eyes.

"Good night." They both said and exited the guild, closing the door hard behind them.

"As expected of the two. They go at their own pace." Wakao grinned and said. "Ah… youth."

"Then I guess I should be heading back as well." Erza said. "Good night."

And the very fearful Erza Scarlet left the guild with a light wave.

"I think I will too," Gray said as he stood up from his chair. "Get a good rest, Lucy. We could all use one."

"Yeah. Thanks, Gray," Lucy smiled and said. "'Night."

"'Night."

"Aren't you going back as well, Lucy?" Mira questioned when Gray left.

"I..I didn't have dinner yet."

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**Lucy's POV**

After I got my dinner plate full of delicious food, I went back to the bar seat and sat down, letting out a sigh.

I had about a million and one things running through my mind, swarming like bees.

_I'm too weak._ _Every other member in Team Natsu is so strong yet… yet I'm like this… I only got into Team Natsu because of Mira in the first place. I was sent to go with Erza, Natsu and Gray to 'make sure Gray and Natsu didn't fight'. It should've been them 3. With Happy, of course. _

_Levy-chan wasn't lying when she said the mission was dangerous… Maybe it was because that I wasn't there to bring them down that they went on it. Am I really that much of a burden? _

_No, no, Lucy! You mustn't think this way! You have to stay positive. Stay positive! It only makes sense that you're weaker than the rest! You started learning magic when you were 14! The rest have been training since they were kids! There's a difference! Stay positive! _

That much thinking resulted with loss of appetite. I sighed as I put down my fork and left the plate on the counter. I waved farewell and left the guild quietly. Mira seemed quite concerned at my behavior. I sighed again.

I'm sure it'll be better tomorrow.

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**NORMAL POV **

On the way back home, Lucy summoned Plue and took the regular route, balancing on the edge of the road by the river.

"Ne, Plue," Lucy asked the cute spirit. "Do you think I'm weak?"

"Pun Pun!" Plue shook his head furiously and said.

"Really?" Lucy questioned.

"Pun pun!" Plue raised his hand and nodded.

Lucy than faced the front and smiled sadly.

"I think I'm weak." She said quietly. "I seriously think that I'm the weakest mage around my age."

"Pun pun pun!" Plue shook his head furiously and said again.

"I guess I'm just tired…" Lucy said as she entered her house. Natsu and Happy weren't there to disturb them. "It's almost my mother's death anniversary, as well."

Later that night, right before she got into her bed, she took out a piece of parchment and pen and started writing,

_Dear Mother,_

_ How is it over there in heaven? I'm doing well. No, I lied. To be honest, I'm not doing well. Mother, I sometimes wonder if I don't belong in Fairy Tail. It's the strongest guild here in Fiore yet I'm not strong, at all. How strong were you, Mother? Could you have summoned multiple spirits without falling to your knees? Could you have not let your team members down while you were in __Love and Lucky__? I always knew I wasn't strong like Erza or Mira but I never really gave much thought to it until today. I'm scared, Mother. I'm scared that my friends will one day leave me because I'm too weak. I'm scared that they will leave me because I'm bringing the team down. I don't have a high magic power like them nor do I have the stamina. Sorry Mother, for venting out on you, but I'm quite a mess here. Sorry for this depressing letter. I'm a bit tired so I think I'll go to sleep, now. I hope that tomorrow's letter will be much enjoyable to write. _

_Love,_

_Your Lucy_

Lucy sighed as she put her pen down. She put the parchment in an envelope and stamped it neatly before putting it in the antique box, as usual.

She than crawled into her bed and closed her eyes.

_I think I'll have a hard time falling asleep tonight._

And indeed she did. She tossed and turned. She tried sleeping on her back, on her side, than the other. She tried counting sheep but she just couldn't fall asleep. When she _did_ finally fall asleep, she had a dream that her friends left them, as she had feared.

And finally, after only getting 2 hours of decent sleep, she got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for a new day.

* * *

When she reached Fairy Tail and greeted everyone, as usual, she went up to her seat by the bar and sat down.

"Good morning, Lucy." Mira greeted as she gave her a cup of water.

"Good morning to you too, Mira." Lucy smiled a bit and said.

"You look tired." She commented, looking at the blonde's dark circles.

"A bit," Lucy agreed. "I didn't get a good sleep yesterday."

Mira glanced over at Lucy, sympathetically. Mira knew the reason why.

"Good morning, Lucy!" Happy greeted when he saw a familiar celestial mage.

"Morning, Happy." Lucy greeted back.

"You look quite tired." Natsu said from beside.

"Yeah," Lucy repeated, trying to give a reassuring smile.

"Bad dream?" Gray asked.

"A-A bit."

Erza nodded as she crossed her arms.

"Yes, I had a bad dream last night, as well."

"What did you dream about?" Happy asked.

"That Ichiya-san was my height." Erza's face turned dark and replied.

Gray, Happy, and Natsu both shuddered at the thought.

"Very scary, indeed." Gray said.

Lucy sweatdropped at her friend's weird sense of humour.

"Anyways, shall we go on a job today, as well?" Erza than brightened up and asked the group.

"Yeah!" Natsu said. "I'm getting all fired up!"

"Sounds good." Gray said.

"Aye, sir!"

Lucy fidgeted.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Erza asked. "Do you want to pick the mission?"

"No… Sorry guys, I-I think I'll miss out this time." Lucy said, not making eye-contact with her friends.

"What? Why?" Natsu exclaimed.

Lucy than raised her head and smiled sadly.

"Sorry." She said. "I'm a bit out of it today. I'll just bring you guys down if I go with you."

"That's not true, Lucy!" Natsu started to shout but was stopped by Mira.

"You guys. She said that she's tired," Mira said sternly, which was quite rare for the happy bartender. "You guys should leave it at that."

"I-I guess we have no choice if you're tired." Natsu said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You should go home and rest." Gray said, concerned.

"Yeah. I will. Thanks." The blond replied.

"We'll be back in a couple days, than." Erza added. "Maybe after, when you're feeling better, we can go on another mission."

"That'll be fun." Lucy smiled and said. "Have a safe trip."

And Team Natsu (– 1) had once again, left the guild.

Lucy sighed as she saw the door close.

_I guess I should go on a solo mission today as w-_

"Oi." A deep voice was heard behind Lucy. She quickly turned around to come face-to-face with one of the strongest mages of Fairy Tail.

"L-laxus?" Lucy exclaimed, confused. He was wearing a large, black cloak with a hood. Nobody seemed to have noticed he was there.

"Ji-ji wants to talk to you." He said. "Follow me."

Lucy, confused at why the Master would want to talk to her, followed him. Mira followed behind her, as well.

"Mira-san?" Lucy asked.

"Master would want me there, too." Mira smiled and said.

"Oi." Laxus repeated when they reached the top of the staircase, he held the door open. "Here."

When Lucy entered, followed by Mira and Laxus, she saw Master sitting on his desk, his arms crossed, head down, and looking very serious.

"Laxus." Master said, his tone stern.

"I know." He replied and locked the door. "The sound has already been soundproofed. Go."

Master cleared his throat and looked up at Lucy.

"Lucy. I hear that you've been going through some hard times." He started.

The mage looked surprised at Master. _Was it that obvious?_

"You hid it quite well, dear." He said, as if reading her mind. "It wasn't obvious, at all. But I can tell when one of my children isn't feeling well."

Lucy looked down at the floor, a bit nervous. Master not behaving like a pervert wasn't a sight you see every day.

"Look at me, Lucy." Master said. His voice ran through the room loud and strong.

The blonde, slowly raised her head, the two making eye-contact.

"You are not weak." He said, as if he knew Lucy's biggest issue. The mage's eyes widened at his sudden statement.

"You, Lucy Heartphelia, are not weak." Master repeated. "You don't even you're your true power. Once you master your powers with the spirits, you can go even further."

"Further?" Lucy asked. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"Everyone starts with a basic magic, Lucy." He explained. "The stronger it is, the better it will be later. Take Erza for example. She started with telekinesis – not a difficult magic to learn at all. You see, she wasn't that strong the first time she started using magic. But she kept going. And after she mastered telekinesis, she learned to master sword magic, and then finally her current magic, The Knight. Because she practiced countless nights until she was beaten up and bleeding, could she have reached where she is today."

Master never drifted his eye contact from Lucy.

"And, you, Lucy, your basic magic are using the spirits - a very strong base, indeed. It's your first step to achieve something greater." Lucy tried breaking eye contact but somehow could not. She was fixed on the spot and unable to move any muscle in her body.

"Do you see what I'm saying, Lucy?" He asked, serious. "You are not weak. You have improved drastically from the first time you stepped foot here in my house. And I knew from the first time we met, that if trained right, you would surpass lots of mages you think is impossible to beat."

"Why… why are you telling me all this, Master?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

Master, instead of answering Lucy's question, just stood up, at last removing eye contact.

"Gildarts." He said.

"Gildar-" Lucy started to question but stopped when a figure appeared beside Master's desk. It was Gildarts, himself. He stood there, his usual clothes and his arms crossed. He smiled reassuringly at Lucy.

"Mirajane." Master announced next. Mira, who was already transformed to Satan Soul, suddenly appeared next to Gildarts.

"Laxus." He announced last. And Laxus teleported to the other side of Gildarts, his cloak now taken off, wearing his electricity-wired headphones and a sleeveless, black, fitted shirt.

"Lucy." The Master said. "These three S-Class Mages will be the ones training you."

The celestial mage was still shocked from seeing Gildarts, Mirajane, and Laxus all in one room, in their battle form. Not only that, but she was surprised that they even knew her, at all. Mira was an exception but Gildarts and Laxus rarely shows up at the guild, let alone has time to get to know the newcomers.

"What are you talking about?" She finally found her words and spouted out.

"This, Lucy," The master explained, looking dead serious into Lucy's eyes as the three S-Class mages did the same, "is Fairy Tail's Exclusive 100-Night Training."

**- END OF CHAPTER 1-**

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**A/N: **I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! I might be mixing a few fights up here and there and changing the outcome from time to time. There will NOT be a 7-year gap. But there may or may not be the characters that appear after it. (Like Sting, and the guild, Sabertooth) You'll just have to wait and find out. =w=b

Feel free to tell me what you think about it and suggest anything if you would like. If you have any questions, just pop it by and I'll be sure to answer it next chapter!

Of course, constructive criticism and feedback are very much appreciated!

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**QUESTION:** Who is your favourite character in Fairy Tail and why?

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**NEXT CHAPTER: Goodbye Team Natsu and Hello Class of S-Class**


	2. Goodbye Team Natsu and Hello SClass

**A/N:** Wow! You guys all have a variety of favourite characters! Mine has to be Laxus. He's strong, loyal, not to mention _very_ handsome, and he's just so amazinngggg!

And some of you guys asked for some _**romance**_ – Laxus x Lucy or Natsu x Lucy. OTL I can't really imagine any of them being 'actually' together since they're not canon other than Mashima-sensei trolling. Maybe after a while when things get heated up, I'll put up a poll and you guys can tell me what you think; romance or none! There are more announcements at the end of the chapter so I hope you guys can take your time to read them! Thank you for reading and enjoy, _101 Days and 100 Nights_!

CHAPTER 2: Goodbye Team Natsu and Hello S-Class

Written by: MaekoLovesPandas

Words: 2,532

Date Released: August 22nd, 2012

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_Previously On: 101 Days and 100 Nights_

"_This, Lucy," The master explained, looking dead serious into Lucy's eyes as the three S-Class mages did the same, "is Fairy Tail's Exclusive 100-Night Training."_

* * *

"W-what are you talking about?" The blond mage anxiously asked. "This isn't making any sense to me!"

Master nodded. "Do not worry," he said. "It'll all make sense in due time."

"I want an explanation, Master." Lucy demanded. She knew very well not to question him but at this point, when nothing in the world made sense to her, she thought it was quite a good reason to. "What training? What magical power? I'm a celestial mage – nothing else and nothing more."

"Your magic powers are of a little child's, Lucy," Master remarked, staring intently into Lucy's eyes. "It is not weak, but nor is it your full potential. You _must_ be trained."

"Why?" The blonde replied. "This is the first time I ever heard of special training with S-Class Mages!"

"You're the first in quite a while," Gildarts stepped up and said. "25 years ago, I trained another mage like you."

"What's the purpose of this? Why one hundred nights?" Lucy asked. She thought that her brain would explode with all these questions. She _hardly_ had questions - she was an intelligent girl, after all, but all this just made her want to go insane.

"You're capable of more things you can imagine, my dear child," Master answered. "And it _must_ be trained under good hands."

Before Lucy could ask any more questions, the old man raised his hands, silencing her.

"You should go back to your house and pack your essentials. You are only allowed to bring one bag with you."

"Wait, we're leaving now?!" Lucy shouted.

"The faster you begin, the more time you will have to prepare yourself," he replied.

"What are y-"

"Lucy," Mirajane, who was still in her Satan Soul, looked at Lucy. "We'll answer your questions a long the way. Right now, go pack."

"But Mir-"

"Lucy," Mira repeated, her eyes turning into a glare.

"I-I get it."

* * *

At Lucy's place, she grabbed a small bag and started to fold her clothes – clothes suitable for all weathers.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Lucy muttered to Plue, whom she called out to vent out her anger on.

"Pun pun!" Plue shook her head and said.

"What?" Lucy asked as she stopped folding her clothes. "You think that I should go to this 100-night weird training?"

"You should go," a voice exclaimed behind Lucy. The blonde whipped her head around to see a familiar spirit standing before her.

"I never remembered summoning you, Loke," Lucy said as she turned back around to start folding her clothes once more. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here so you could understand the importance of this training, Lucy," Loke answered, his voice unusually serious. "This training means more than you think it does."

"What are you talking about? How is it that you know?"

"I've been a spirit under countless owners, Lucy," Loke started. "I know how these things work. By far, you are definitely the strongest – the one that is meant to take your power as a Celestial Mage to the next level."

"Woah wait," Lucy said, shaking her head. "You spirits can like, level up or something?"

Loke smiled, glad that his owner was starting to loosen up. "Something like that, I guess. But it's not us that'll level up. It's you."

Lucy's eyes widened. "But I'm just a Celestial Mage – one who's able to summon spirits. That's my magic. I can't learn something new! That's abandoning the spirits!

"Didn't you hear what Master said?" Loke shook his head and said. "Summoning spirits are just a base, Lucy. To be honest, it's never the spirits that you should fully depend on - it's your own self. This training will make you learn to depend on yourself when it comes to battles."

"How do you know? Do you know what comes next after learning to summon spirits?"

"I've only heard about it from the Spirit King but I've never saw it, myself."

"What happens?" Lucy asked, excited.

"You'll have to wait and see." Loke smiled and replied. "Train hard, Lucy. I'll always be by your side."

And with that, the leader of the Zodiac Keys vanished into thin air.

"Thank you, Loke." Lucy said under her breath. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have such amazing friends.

The mage than stood up and stretched her arms, new determination filling her up. "Since I'm done packing, I guess I should go. Gambatte Lucy! You can do it!"

* * *

Lucy was filled with mixed emotions. She didn't know what to feel when Mira, Laxus, & Gildarts said to meet them at the mountains – hundreds of miles away. They all ended up teleporting away and back as soon as they noticed that Lucy couldn't teleport. Nor did Lucy know what to feel when the S-Class Mages finished up to 2 S-Class Missions during their way to the mountains – and didn't even know they did.

At the very end, the group finally listened to Lucy's suggestion and decided to take the train, much to Laxus' dismay.

"Sorry, Laxus." Lucy apologized when she saw Laxus turning slightly paler as the train started to move.

"This is nothing," Laxus toughed out. "Natsu's just a wimp."

Lucy's mood fell as he mentioned her partner's name.

_In the end… I couldn't even say goodbye to them._

"Cheer up, Lucy," Mira smiled and said from beside. "Master will explain everything to them once they come back from their mission."

"But didn't this happen all to fast?" Lucy asked. "I could've at least gotten another day or so to say goodbye."

"You don't understand, Lucy," Mira replied, eyes turning serious. "This training isn't for show. You need it."

"Why is it so important for me to go through this training?"

"Celestial Mages are rare," Gildarts spoke up. "But it's even rarer to bear 10 Zodiac Keys out of the 12."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"To put it simply," Laxus remarked, trying his best to ignore the sickness in his stomach, "your life is in grave danger."

"D-danger?"

"Many, _many_ dark guilds will want your keys, Lucy," Mira said. "It pays very well and of course, to get your keys, they will either have to ask you to give up your keys – or kill you. That's the only way a contract can end."

Lucy shuddered as she unconsciously squeezed her keys by her side.

"I would never give up my keys." She replied.

"So they'll kill you." Laxus stated as the blonde shot him a look.

"Not only that," Gildarts continued, ignoring the two arguments, "but those that can use Celestial Magic are strong. As Master said, summoning the spirits is just a base. They may even brain-wash you into working for them. It happened to countless mages I've known."

"How do you guys know so much about Celestial Magic?"

"We studied them." Laxus simply shrugged his shoulders and answered.

Mira nodded and looked at Lucy, a smile appearing on her face. "We're your trainers, after all."

Somehow, Lucy felt a feeling of reassurance and excitement brew up inside of her.

* * *

"Get up." A dark voice of a female exclaimed. Her glistening-white hair was up, looking wild around the mage. Her killer body was clothed with a revealing & tight armor.

"T-time out, Mira," a blonde below her squeaked out. "I'm really going to die!"

"It's only been 2 minutes and 32 seconds," Mira, the devil, replied. "Get up."

"Give her a break, Mira," a large-figure said from beside. His arms were crossed and leaned back against the mountain.

Mira sighed as she transformed back to her regular clothing. She shot a look at the celestial mage. "You have a long way to go."

Lucy sighed as she struggled to get up. "I stand no chance against Natsu. How do you expect me to beat _you_, an S-Class Mage?"

"Let's discuss some things first," Gildarts offered. "We should get to know each other better instead of battling first-hand."

The beat-up Celestial Mage liked the idea a lot. She might be able to live just 10 minutes longer.

When they all sat around a fire as it was starting to get dark, Gildarts introduced himself first.

"Elders first as they say," he grinned and started. "So, kid. My name's Gildarts and I've been a Fairy Tail Mage for 29 years. I became an S-Class Mage the first year I joined – when I was 16 years old. Don't even try to do the math. I am very aware of how old I am, thank you very much."

Lucy chuckled. _He doesn't seem too bad._ She thought, _I thought he'll be scarier since he's the strongest in Fairy Tail._

"My magic is Crash and Disassembly," He explained. "I tend to destroy things when I'm not focused – that's why the whole city was re-constructed for my entrance."

Lucy sweatdropped. Yes, she remembered that day. The whole city was divided into two, creating a pathway for him. It was quite an entrance, indeed.

"Than I guess I'm next," Laxus grunted. "Name's Laxus and I've been a Fairy Tail Mage ever since I was born. I became an S-Class Mage when I turned 16. My magic is Thunder but I also have the abilities of a dragon slayer."

Lucy nodded. She knew about Laxus' evil Father who forced him to become a dragon slayer.

_What a horrible father…_ She thought. _Just like mine…_

"You already know me," Mira smiled and said, "but I'll do it just in case. Name's Mirajane and my magic is Take Over. Like any other Take Over Magic, I have many different types but they're all one form - Satan Soul. I became an S-Class Mage when I turned 16, like Laxus and Gildarts."

"I-If you don't mind asking," Lucy asked, "at what age did you start training your magic?"

Gildarts put his hand on his chin and thought about the question.

"I guess… when I was about 8 or 9," he started. "I remember blowing up my 10th birthday cake so I know it wasn't when I was 10."

"Though I knew about magic ever since I was kid, I never started my official training until I was 10." Laxus answered.

"I've been learning magic since I was 10, as well." Mira smiled and said.

Lucy's eyes widened. She felt… ashamed. They weren't that far off from when Lucy started learning magic. They became S-Class when they only had about 7-8 years of training! Lucy was turning 18 this year. She didn't feel one bit happy that she was like this.

"Lucy!" Mira said. "It's your turn to introduce yourself."

"Oh, right!" Lucy said. "My name is Lucy Heartfelia and I'm a Celestial Mage. I'm 17 years old which would make me the youngest here."

The group kept quiet and kept staring at the blank-faced Celestial Mage.

"Keep going." Gildarts said, motioning his hand.

"About what?"

"Your magic." Laxus answered, as if it was obvious. "How many spirits can you summon at a time?"

"As of now, only 2," she said. "But only for a short period of time."

"Can you do forced closure?"

"Yeah."

"Which keys do you have in your possession?"

"10 Zodiac Keys and 5 Silver Keys - Aquarius, Leo, Scorpion, Gemini, Cancer, Sagittarius, Virgo, Taurus, Aries, and Scorpio. I also have Nikora (Plue), Pyxis, Lyra, Horologium, and Crux."

"And I heard that you met the Spirit King before?" Laxus asked.

"Y-yes."

"And that you once opened up all your spirits." He continued.

"But that lasted for a short time."

"But you still did it," Laxus remarked. "It means that you have the ability to open up all your keys. You'll only need to open 10, your Zodiac Keys, for combat fighting."

"Wait, what?"

"Your first step in training will be able to open all your 10 keys, one after the other." Laxus finished.

"Start now." Gildarts said to Lucy. "Summon as many spirits as you can in order."

Lucy looked at her trainers like they were crazy. "You want me to what?! They're resting! I can't just bother them!"

The three trainers before Lucy were acting differently from before – like a switch turned on in their minds. They did not have the spark in their eyes as they usually did nor did they have a tone to be joking. They seemed dead-serious about everything they said.

"They are already informed of this training," Gidlarts said. "They promised to cooperate for the next 100 nights."

Lucy sighed. There was no use arguing. She stood up and took a deep breath, concentrating on her magical power.

She than extended her hand in front of her, holding tightly on her Golden Key.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

"Hime. How may I help you?" Virgo replied as she appeared.

"Force closure it." Mira said, her eyes serious.

Lucy easily forced the door to close, after giving Virgo an apologetic look.

"Next." Laxus announced.

Lucy sighed and took out another key.

"Open! Gate of the Lion, Leo!"

"I see you're in your training," Loke smiled and noted.

"Forced closure." Lucy said and Loke dissolved to thin air.

"Keep going." Mira said.

"Open! Gate of the Bull, Taurus!"

"Moo! Lucy! You have a mootiful body, as always!"

"Forced closure." Lucy exclaimed, forgetting that Taurus was a perverted spirit for a split second.

"Open! Gate of the Ram, Aries!"

"Please excuse me!" Aries exclaimed.

"Forced closure." Lucy said, her voice now barely audible.

"Open! Gate of the Twins, Gemini!"

The spirit came in, dressed exactly like Lucy.

"Forced closure."

Lucy was now panting and sweating. It was difficult calling 6 spirits and forcing a closure on them, especially when they weren't expecting it. She glanced at her trainers, who were looking intently at Lucy.

"Is that the most you can do?" Laxus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lucy huffed as she extended her hand out. Though that may have been her limit, she could find more magic somewhere in her body. Nobody mocks me like that. She thought.

"Open! Gate of the Goat, Capricorn!"

"Lucy-sama. I see that you're in a middle of training. I could help you out-"

"Forced closure!"

Laxus smirked.

"You're just like Natsu." He said. "Your magical power increases depending on your emotions."

Lucy glared at Laxus. She didn't quite like how he was making fun of her on purpose.

"Open! Gate of the Arch-" Lucy than fell to her knees, not able to summon any more. "I-I'm done."

"8." Mira said. She was different from her usual self. She didn't even crack a smile. "Out of 10 you can only summon 8. Not only that, but they weren't even out for a minute. You'll have a hard time through combat battle."

"S-so what do I have to do?" Lucy asked, tired out.

"Get up." Mira said as she stood up herself, "You're first night: You'll learn how to open all your Zodiac Keys and each spirit will fight me." And a dark and large magic circle appeared, as the once-friendly bartender Mira had turned into the demon, Mirajane.

Gildats and Laxus stood up as well. Lucy reluctantly followed.

The sides of Gildart's lips tugged upwards as he announced: "Let the 100-Night Fairy Tail Training officially…**begin**."

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, everyone! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I never thought I'll get that much on the first chapter! I'm glad that you guys think of this story as unique. I try my best to be different from other fanfictions.

And wow! The writers/readers in the Fairy Tail Fanfiction Fandom are very, very nice! I'm so glad to have come here! I'm only used to Gakuen Alice! Maybe if you're interested in that category, you can check out my fanfiction there! You can go to my profile to see it. Anyways, thank you to all that has favourited, followed, and/or reviewed!

So I'm in **Korea** everyone! (To those that didn't know, I'm Korean) And I will be there for 3 weeks. Though I'm here, I'll still be writing. If you read my profile, you would have read the notice of me not being a frequent updater. I apologize in advance but I do hope you guys look forward to the next chapter!

Please review if you would like! Feedback and constructive criticisms are always welcomed, as usual!

**NOTICE: **If you would like to be updated on my status, you can always check out my blog or follow me on twitter (MaekoTan) and I'm sure to be active there. My blog is on my profile and I usually update with slight spoilers on fanfictions, ideas, and comments. Other links are on my profile. Thank you!

**QUESTION: **If Lucy could learn another magic, what do you think it should be? (If you would like, you can give a brief explanation of it, as well)

**Next Chapter: The 1****st**** Night and the 1****st**** New Magic**


	3. Trainers and Lucy

**A/N**: Long time no see, everyone! I'm sorry for the drastic leave of absence since the last chapter but the truth is, I've been feeling quite depressed these past few weeks and I'm just in a mess... But I'm glad I've finished this chapter and I'm looking forward to all of your responses! Sorry I changed the title! m(_)m

**Please Note: **This chapter has been re-written 4 times so I apologize if it does not fit your standards.

**Romance**: I'm surprised that most of you want Laxus x Lucy! Really, really surprised, actually! To be honest, I love that couple, as well. But, as I stated in the first chapter, I may or may not add romance. Keep your eye out for any... trolling by yours truly. /trollface

* * *

**CHAPTER 3: Trainers and Lucy**

**Written By: MaekoLovesPandas**

**Words: 1,780**

**Released: October 26th, 2012**

* * *

**Training Camp**

"Let's call it a night, everyone!" Gildarts exclaimed, cupping his hands around his mouth so his voice could be heard.

A couple moments later, a badly hurt Blonde and mage with her familiar smile showed up at the campsite.

"M-Mira-san..." the blonde whined while walking, gripping her bandaged arm. "Y-you're too strong."

Mira kept her smile as she simply tilted her head to the side, deceiving innocence.

"You're getting better as each night passes, Lucy." She replied in her usual soft voice.

"Y-you change too fast, as well." Lucy commented.

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

"Dinner's ready!" Gildarts called out.

"Coming!" Lucy and Mira both exclaimed.

It was the 34th Night. Just 34 nights ago, Lucy was dragged and brought onto this crazy journey of training. Each night, she counted - how many more until she'd get to see Natsu and the rest again. No contact with the outside world, no contact with the guild. She knew that they were okay but she couldn't help but wonder how they were doing.

"What's the progress report?" Gildarts asked, scarfing down his stew.

"Well," Mira started, "Night Thirty-Four: Physical Training - weight lifting, rock climbing, hand-to-hand combat. Magic Training - Comabat Level C, Aquarius' Attitude Training, Gemini Twins Special Training. "

"And how did it go?"

"Not much change with Aquarius but that's minimal. Special Training with Gemini went better than expected." Mira concluded.

"So if today was physical and magic training, tomorrow would be Spiritual training..." Laxus thought out loud. He than turned to face the blonde. "I'll train you tomorrow."

A mischevious smiled appeared on the Take Over Mage's face as she nodded eagerly.

"Take good care of her, alright?" She said, still smiling.

Lucy sweatdropped as Laxus shrugged.

"But really, kid," Gildarts said, "already at this level, I'm surprised."

The Celestial Mage slightly flushed in embarassment as all she could do was give a petite smile.

"It's all thanks to your training," she replied.

"Sooner or later, you'll be one of us," the old man kept going, pushing his head back and taking a good look at the stars above. "Ah... youth..." He drifted off.

"Anyways, Lucy," Mira said, disregarding Gildarts, "now that you got the hang of your spirits and fighting, you need to strengthen your magic power."

Lucy paid attention as she nodded.

"From tomorrow onwards, you'll be practising on how to increase your magic capacity and while doingso, your own magic."

Lucy choked on her stew immediately, coughing. Gildarts had to pat her on the back to clear her airway.

"M-my own what?!" She exclaimed between remaining coughs, face red.

"We told you about it a couple nights ago, remember?" Laxus said, raising his eyebrows. "Your own magic?"

"I never-! I mean I heard of it! B-but it's a bit too soon, don't you think?" Lucy countered. "I'm still too weak to learn _that_ magic and I-"

"No excuses," Gildarts said, getting into his training mode. "You'll have to learn it. Master told me to teach you when you are ready and now, you're more than ready. You can handle something as simple as creating your own magic."

"The hardest one will be the strongest spirits, Lucy." Mira continued explaining. "Remember to focus on the key symbol for each one. Your magic will come to you naturally."

"That's how it happened to all of us." Laxus finished.

And with that, she knew that the result would never change, no matter how much she protested or how much she complained. All she could do was trust her at this point; the trainers knew her the best, after all.

"I-I'll try." She finally concluded.

The trainers smiled at her.

"Let's call it a night, than," Gildarts said. "Laxus, remember to wake up early since you're training her."

The mage simply grunted as a reply.

* * *

**Lucy's POV**

My very own magic? Something I created by myself? Call me a coward, but I'm damn-ass scared. What if I failed? Everyone's magic fit them so well. Gray's, Natsu's, Mira's and definitely Gildarts and Laxus.

What would mine be?

Other than my Celestial Spirits...to have my something I own and reflects the symbolism of the Spirits... It all seemed too unreal to me.

I just couldn't sleep. Mira-san was mumbling something about 'kill' and 'destroy' so I simply left her alone. I finally decided that lying there would do me no good so I quietly sneaked out of the tent, attempting to go on a walk in the forest. It was a warm outside so I didn't bother putting on my jacket.

When I was quietly putting on my shoes, I suddenly heard an abrupt noise of a large crackle and whipped my head towards the sound.

_Just the fire._ I sighed in relief and turned back to slip on my left shoe.

"It's dangerous to go out alone." A voice exclaimed.

By than, I was sure I shortened my life span by a year.

* * *

**Normal POV**

Laxus was standing sternly beside Lucy, arms crossed and face serious. The Blonde jumped, obviously startled, but calmly finished putting on her shoes.

"Please don't sneak up on me like that," she sighed and exclaimed, facing the Thunder Mage. "You scared the living daylights out of me."

"I should tell Gildarts that you have to learn how to sense other people's presence," he commonly replied.

Lucy sighed once more as she commenced walking towards the campfire.

"Can't sleep?" He questioned.

"Something like that," the blonde replied, staring at the fire crackling.

"Is it because of tomorrow night's training?"

"..."

"You shouldn't worry about something as trivial as that."

Lucy turned around, locking eyes with the Thunder Mage.

"Hey..." she started, "would you like to come on a walk with me?"

* * *

"So you're scared?" Laxus scoffed between small fits of chuckles.

"It's not polite to laugh, you know!" The blonde protested from beside. "How would you feel when you are learning a completely new magic?!"

He replied almost instantly. "Excited."

Lucy sighed.

"Well, that's you," she said. "I've been with my Spirits for almost 4 years... You can't just expect me to learn a brand, new magic."

"But this magic is yours." Laxus commented, serious.

Lucy stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"You created it with your own power - your own self. It reflects you in every single way and that magic is your very, own being. That's what magic is." He continued.

The blonde's eyes widened as she started to process what her trainer just said.

"And it's not like you're giving up your Spirits," he kept going. "You're magic is still Celestial Magic. But now, instead of relying on Spirits like another Celestial Mage, you'll be depending on yourself." Laxus than turned around, facing the surprised Blonde and gave her a small grin. It was almost impossible to see, but it was there. "Who knows? Maybe your magic has more to the Spirits than you think."

Lucy sighed as she smiled. There was no beating what he just said. Throughout the nights, she knew that Laxus wasn't a bad person. He just had a weird way of showing how much he cared towards his comrades.

Maybe, _just maybe_, Laxus thought of Lucy as his comrade as well.

And the Celestial Mage smiled at the thought.

* * *

**Fairy Tail... **

Silence penetrated throughout the guild as a scarlet-haired mage hit the bar counter so hard, it broke in half.

"What," she exclaimed in a venomous tone, "is the meaning of this?"

The short, old man beside the broken counter simply sipped his jug of beer.

"It's exactly as I have stated," he replied. "Lucy is not here. She is training."

Team Natsu's eyes widened at his response. Training? They never heard of no training!

"Why weren't we informed of this, Master?" Erza asserted.

"It was decided on the very day you guys left for your mission a couple weeks ago."

"When...will she be returning?" The Ice Mage asked from the back.

"This training is restricted to only 100 Nights."

"It's been a little more than a month since we left for the mission... so not even halfway there?" Happy questioned.

"Idiot!" Gray exclaimed to the mage that didn't speak even once. "It's your fault that we got so hung up! You and your transportation issues!"

"It's not Natsu's fault, Gray!" Happy defended. "It was you that wanted to help all those citizens while we were walking!"

"B-but-!"

"Silence, all of you." Erza exclaimed. "Natsu. What do you have to say to this?"

"...Who... is she training with?" He asked quietly.

Master eyed Natsu especially as he answered. "Gidlarts, Mirajane, & Laxus."

Natsu's eyes widened as his head fell, bangs overshadowing his eyes.

"I-it's okay, Natsu!" Happy attempted. "She'll be back just after seventy-something days! It won't be that long at all!"

"That's not it Happy..." Natsu said quietly, his head still down. "I just don't get why..."

"Why...?" Gray said, picking up where the Fire Mage trailed off.

Natsu's head shot up, startling everyone, and his whole body was on fire.

"I DON'T GET WHY THE HELL I'M NOT TRAINING WITH HER, GODDAMMIT!" He hollered, running around the guild and breaking everything in the process. "I SHOULD BE TRAINING WITH HER! SHE'S WITH GILDARTS! AND LAXUS! AND MIRAAA! I WANT TO TRAIN! I WANT TO TRAIN, TOO!" He than ran over to Master and pressed his face against him. "LET ME TRAIN TOOOOOO!" He whined.

Master immediately punched him in the stomach, pushing him back.

"Well that... was unexpected." Gray said as soon as he gathered his words.

"Aye..."

The Fire-Mage immediately shot back up from the ground, body still on fire. "I'M HER PARTNER! I SHOULD TRAIN WITH HER! WHY AM I NOT?!"

"Listen, Natsu," Master said, serious. "You will _not_ interrupt this training, do you understand?"

Natsu stopped hollering out loud as his body went back to normal. He faced Master, his mouth still wide open.

"Lucy needs this training. Much more than you or anyone else in the guild." The old man continued.

"Hey! Are you calling Lucy wea-" Natsu started.

A hand stopped him from saying any more as the fearless Erza stepped up.

"Master, please tell us more about this," she asked.

The old man could only sigh.

"The only thing I can say is that her life is in danger. She _needs_ to be trained so she can protect herself."

"...What kind of danger?" Gray questioned, worried.

Master stood frozen, still in his place.

"Jii-chan..." Natsu said in a shaky yet serious voice. If Master wasn't replying, it usually meant something bad. "What kind of danger is Lucy in?"

The Master of Fairy Tail lifted his head up, locking eyes with Natsu.

"Dragons."

* * *

**A/N**: Can you imagine Natsu crying? Out of sadness or because he's missing someone? I can't. Not one bit. When I read fanfictions and Natsu is crying over Lucy gone, I find it _very_ OOC. It might just be me, though. I had to do a lot of thinking and notes beforehand this chapter and I'm quite proud with the result.

Natsu being mad over Lucy leaving to train seems more like him.

I just don't see him react to it any other way. It doesn't seem right. So what do you think? Do you think I did Natsu's character justice? Did his reaction seem like something you would see him do? Tell me what you think!

* * *

**Lucy's Magic: **Okay. It might be because I don't read lots of Fairy Tail Fanfictions, but DAMN, Lucy getting elemental dragon slaying power is REALLY popular! I've actually got the magic sorted out right now but hey, who knows? How about reviewing and telling me a couple more ideas? I would love to hear from you!

Anyways, thank you for your patience with this chapter. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again in the next one!

Please review if you would like! Constructive criticism and feedback are always, always welcomed!

* * *

**Notice: **If you would like to be updated on my status, please feel free to follow me on twitter (MaekoTan). My writing status is always on my Profile, which I update often, so please feel free to check that out as well! I am not a frequent updater with my fanfictions!

* * *

**Question: **_What kind of connection do you think Lucy has with the dragons?_

Also, this is just for me as an author but it would help me A LOT if you answered it:

_Do you think I did Natsu's character justice as I wrote his reaction to Lucy's absence for training? _

* * *

**Next Chapter: She's Back and She Strong **


	4. She's Back and She's Strong

**A/N:** Hey, guys! I hope you all had a great New Year's! I'm so sorry this one took so long to be released... I wanted it out before Christmas but I became extremely sick and than I was put into hospital (for different reasons but admitted nonetheless And it was quite hectic. But it's out now! Special thanks to those that answered my questions - they really _do _help. Please enjoy, 101 Days and 100 Nights, Chapter 4!

* * *

**CHAPTER 4: She's Back and She's Strong**

**Written By: MaekoLovesPandas**

**Words: 2, 436**

**Date Released: January 13, 2013**

* * *

**Normal POV**

"Hey, Mira?" A familiar blonde started. "Why is this training 101 Days? I thought it was restricted to only 100 nights?"

The Take-Over Mage smiled and simply said two words,

"You'll see."

* * *

A certain blonde girl's hair was tied up tightly in a high ponytail as she was sitting down, her eyes lightly closed, and her legs crossed. Her hands were delicately placed on her knees.

"That's it," a calm yet deep voice said from beside. "Relax all your muscles and concentrate solely on your magic power."

The blonde slowly inhaled as she kept her posture, beads of perspiration now appearing on her forehead.

"Concentrate," the deep voice encouraged.

A wave of strong air swept around from where the young mage was sitting. The large figure beside her cracked a smug smile as he nodded.

"Good," he said, "you're done."

The blonde immediately fell on her back as she opened her eyes, looking at the stars which seemed to shine brighter that night than usual.

"You're done?" A feminine voice behind Laxus exclaimed. Lucy got up to a sitting position and smiled at the white-haired mage as greeting.

"Just finished," Laxus replied.

"Good," she smiled. "Come back. Dinner's ready."

* * *

"Night 100," Laxus started. "Lucy's primary magic training with Gildarts."

"Trained with Gemini, Leo, and Virgo," Gildarts picked up. "The rest are only at basic but she got the hang of it."

"Lucy's secondary magic capacity training with Mirajane."

The trainer smiled. "Lucy's magic capacity is roughly on par with us."

"And magic controlling with me." The blonde finished. "She's pretty much an S-Class mage now."

Lucy flushed as she took a bite of her salad. "Shut up," she replied, only to receive a smirk from the Thunder Mage. Yes, 100 nights did indeed deepen her relationship with everyone, especially the particular blonde.

"Well," Gildarts exclaimed. "Tonight was the last day of training for you. Tomorrow afternoon, we head back home."

The blonde's smile faltered as realization finally dawned into her.

"Already, huh?" She said softly, pushing her head back to get a good look at the stars. Today was the last night.

She would never sit around the fire, talking with her trainers who now were pretty much family, look at the stars together, and argue about who gets the most food.

_It really is coming to an end._

* * *

She shot her arms up, protecting her head from a venomous punch that was racing forth her.

It really wasn't on her top 10 list of waking up in the morning.

"What's the meaning of this, Mira?" Lucy asked, alert, awake, and eyeing Satan Soul's punch that she blocked.

"It's as you see, Lucy." The demon growled.

They both whipped their heads above as they heard something snap. Instantly jumping away from each other, lightening striked down, burning down the girl's tent to flutters in mere seconds.

"Laxus," Lucy deemed under her breath.

She didn't have any time to register her thoughts as she sensed something come down from above in rapid speed. She jumped sideways, barely dodging a skyfall punch from Gildarts. A good portion of the ground broke into little blocks, exploding.

"Somebody care to explain this?" The blonde asked, getting up. Her body still ached terribly from yesterday's intense training.

"101 Days and 100 Nights." Laxus deadpanned.

Realization cut her like a knife as she felt a cold bite run down her back. And she knew it wasn't because of the morning chill.

The trainers stood there, analyzing her reaction.

Moments later, both ends of her lips tugged upward, "Training is all the way up to the very last _night._" She inquired, now starting to tie her hair up and fix her bare feet onto the ground. "There has to be some sort of test... and that's what the last day - the 101st - is all about."

There was only silence but she knew she guessed right. Her shoulders tensed as she put her hands above her keys, getting ready, for what she knew was going to be; a long battle.

It was going to be a while before she'd be able to go back home.

* * *

"Jii-chan," a certain salmon-haired mage fussed. "When's Lucy coming back?"

The Master's eyes narrowed, "Sometime during the afternoon. They're busy in the morning."

Fairy Tail was having a slightly larger party than usual. They knew that their S-Class mages would soon be back, with a certain blonde (whom they missed very much) with them.

"I wonder how strong she became," Happy pondered, flying beside Natsu.

"Yeah!" he replied, pumping his fist. "When she comes back, I'm going to ask her to fight me!"

"Aye, sir!"

"You fools," a calm voice interjected, "when Lucy comes back, we'll all enjoy a nice cup of tea with strawberry cake."

"But Erza, you're already eating it." Happy bluntly pointed out. "You're going to get fat if you eat so much."

The guild grew quiet.

It was going to be quite a long morning for the guild of Fairy Tail, as well.

* * *

"I told you that you can't beat me, ice-pants!" The fire mage hollered out.

"I just did, you flame-brain!" His opponent shot back.

"Ha! You call that a win, cheat-"

"SHUT UP YOU LITTLE PUNKS!" Erza shouted, consumed with rage while swinging her mass sword around.

"HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT UP, ERZA!" Cana slammed down her barrel, very much drunk indeed. "Damn, can't even drink in peace."

"Huh? You said something, Cana?" Erza turned her head to the drunk brunette, glaring.

"You squinty-eyes, all you have in your head is lava!" Gray shouted.

"And all YOU have is ice!" Natsu shot back.

"Well, you suck at fighting!"

"I, at least, win the fights!"

"Oh, really? From what I remember, you lost the fight with Erza the first m-"

"Gray, your clothes." A calm voice interjected.

"Wha-" He exclaimed, looking down and seeing his very crotch bare.

Then he stood still.

Erza's demon eyes grew calm.

And Cana stopped laughing hysterically.

"MIRA!" Natsu called out from behind Gray, his face brightening aplenty.

Gray jumped around, a large grin plastered on his face. "As I thought, the only person to remind me of my clothes would be Mira!"

Natsu looked around. "Then Gildarts and the rest must also be-"

"Yup." A large-figure teleported in and waved.

"Hey, hey, don't forget me." Another voice said.

"Laxus!" The guild shouted.

Natsu's face brightened as he raised his head a bit higher.

The last person teleported in and the Fire Mage never felt happier. It beat the day when he got an unlimited amount of fire pizza after an eating competition

"LUCY!" The whole guild, especially her team, called out.

Natsu and Happy raced to give her a hug but was stopped when Gildarts put his arm out in front of Lucy protectively.

"You can't touch her." He exclaimed, eyes narrowing in all seriousness.

Natsu raised his eyebrows.

"Why not?"

"Sorry, Natsu." Lucy gave a small smile from behind and apologized. "I'm... not in the best condition right now."

"Now that you mention it, what happened to you guys?" Gray considered the group.

Indeed, Gildarts, Laxus, Mira, and Lucy were bandaged almost everywhere. Their head, arms, legs - almost everywhere visible.

Mira stepped forward to explain but was interrupted when a small, midget-height grandpa strode in.

"So you guys returned." Master started, unusually serious.

"We're back, Master." Mirajane smiled her usual and greeted.

He nodded. "And how did it go?"

"We couldn't go as far as you asked us to, but that would be because we taught her a couple side tricks," Gildarts scratched his head in guilt.

"And Lucy? How was it for you?"

"I've never felt better!" She replied happily, but stumbled, catching her guild mates by surprise. Laxus caught her, helping her re-gain her balance.

"Don't move around too much, you idiot." Laxus warned.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah... sorry."

"Lucy, are you alright?" Erza stepped forward and asked, worry evident on her face.

"I'm just a bit worn out, that's all." She smiled tiredly. "Sorry if I worried you."

"Laxus, Gildarts, Mira," Master stressed. "Come with me for a short while. Lucy, stay here and catch up with the guild. I'm sure they all have lots to tell you. And I'm sure you have lots to tell them as well."

Lucy nodded, still resting against Laxus from the stumble earlier.

The Thunder Mage helped her get to her seat and left with a light pat on the back. When he and the rest were out of sight, the whole guild declared another party, taking the beer out and going for it all.

"Lu-chan! Your hair grew so much!" Levy started. "It looks sooo good!"

"Are you sure those wounds are alright, Lucy?" Gray asked.

"Oh Mavis, Lucy! Did you lose weight?"

"Rrruuccyy! Let's drriink!"

"How was it with having the demon train you?!"

"Forget the demon! How was it having _Laxus _train you?!"

"How was Gildarts?!"

"Quiet down!" Erza shouted. "Give her some space for Edolas' sake!"

Lucy smiled at her fellow teammate. "Thanks, Erza."

The scarlet-mage smiled back. "How was it, Lucy? How do you feel?"

"It was good," Lucy nodded and replied. "But dreadfully difficult keeping up with all of them."

"Lucy, are you strong now?" Happy asked, nibbling on his fish.

"I definitely did improve a lot from where I started but I'm not really strong."

"Let's fight!" Natsu cried out.

The Celestial Mage rolled her eyes but her lips tugged upwards. She never quite realized how much she missed the guild until now.

"Maybe some other day."

"Alright!" Natsu pumped his fist in the air and cried out.

"But, really, Laxus helping you out like that." Gray exclaimed. "He actually looked... nice for a second there."

Lucy's face lightly flushed to a pink as she shook her head.

"Are you feeling okay? Your face is red." Erza implemented, worried.

"F-Fine!" She stuttered. "And Gray! Wouldn't _you _help someone who stumbled?"

"Lu-chan!" Levy raised her voice above all else. "Do you by any chance... _like _Laxus?!"

Everyone turned to look at Lucy's reaction, who was by now, combusting on the spot.

"L-Levy-chan!" She cried out in embarrassment. "You should know that that's not it!"

"Well, I'm not buying it." The bluenette raised her nose and turned her head.

"You llllllike him." Happy rolled, paws on his mouth.

"You lllllike him." Cana slurred as well, still drunk.

"Shut up!" Lucy shot out, face still red.

* * *

When Gildarts, Laxus, and Mira came out of Master's room, they, too, joined the party.

Gildarts was eying the girls as usual. Laxus was quiet and was with Evergreen, Freed, and Bixlow as usual. And Mira was tending the bar, getting whistles from the males that very much missed her.

The only thing different now was that they seemed to be _very_ much aware of Lucy's surroundings.

For example, when Lucy stumbled for the umpieth time, Gildarts got to her faster than Natsu, who was _right _beside her.

Or when Lucy was about to get her food from the bar, Mira instead, made a dinner _especially_ for her (for free, receiving much protests after_) _, gave it to Laxus, who than _walked over_ to the blonde and _personally _gaveit to her.

And one of them would, without a doubt, check up on her every 5 to 10 minutes, asking her how she's feeling, if she wants to go home, and telling the members to back off the questions, stating _clearly _that she was tired.

* * *

"I'm not liking this." A certain salmon-haired growled, his head flat on the table and seated _far _from Lucy and the rest of the party.

"What's the matter, Natsu?" Happy asked, nibbling on his third fish of the night.

The Fire Mage turned his head to the side, facing the cat. "It's been _hours_ since Lucy came but I never _once_ had a chance to talk to her alone!" He whined.

"Are you jealllous?" Happy rolled, still eating his fish.

"I am!" He huffed, waving his hands around dramatically. "I should be spending time with her! Lucy's _my _partner!"

"Yes, what about me being your partner?" A familiar voice exclaimed behind him. Natsu jumped around to see her best friend, her curious hazel eyes staring right back at him.

"Luc-!" He exclaimed happily, jumping up to give her a bear hug.

"No touch." Laxus growled, grabbing the Fire Mage's face and pushing him back.

"Laxus, stop being so violent." Mira called from the bar. "Give those two some time alone."

The Thunder Mage only grunted as he turned around. "Fine. But no touch."

The Celestial Mage helped Natsu up and took a seat with him. The party was still going strong far behind them and only escalated as some mage, Mavis Bless, dropped Erza's cake.

"Geesh, what's with him," The salmon-haired exclaimed as he rubbed his aching face.

"Don't worry about it. Now that training is over, he's just feeling guilty." Lucy smiled and said.

"Guilty about what?"

"Well," she started. "He _was _the one that went the hardest with me at the training."

"You _fought_ with Laxus?!" Natsu exclaimed, eyes widening from excitement.

"More like everyday at training," The blonde sighed. "He's not the one to go easy, that's for sure."

"So you're on par with them?!"

"She's pretty much an S-Class mage," Mira interrupted as she placed down a cup of hot tea for Lucy. "Drink it, it's good for the wounds."

"Thank you Mira and Natsu, don't believe her. She's overestimating me."

"Certainly not!" Mira giggled and replied. "You'll have a fun time fighting her, I can tell you that."

Natsu's face brightened as he breathed out fire from his nose in excitement.

"Promise me you'll fight me once you get better, Lucy!"

"Yes, yes," The Celestial Mage replied, sipping her hot tea.

"_Promise?_"

"Of course."

The party ended quickly from there. Laxus decided that Lucy was up way too long (as their sleeping schedule was _completely_ switched and they did not get sleep at all during daytime from the battle) and was to be sent home immediately. Mira and Gildarts ended all protests with their terrifying glares and Erza, being the noble woman she is, volunteered to walk her home just in case she stumbled (which was quite obvious that she would).

When the blonde was safely tucked in her bed, the Scarlet Mage left her, smiling over her shoulder at the sight of her best friend back safe and sound.

The full moon peered through her window, the light city chatters sang her the most peaceful lullaby, and the Celestial Mage was gently placed into her dream.

* * *

That's the end of chapter 4! The longest chapter, I believe~ O U O

I have a **very important announcement! **And I would like to ask that you read carefully of the following!

I have made a **personal tumblr** account. And there:

- You can have the **first sneak preview **of upcoming chapters.

- **Updates** on this Fanfiction and where in the chapter I am currently at!

- Updates and Ideas on **upcoming **Fanfictions!

- You can ask **any questions** you have and I will be sure to answer!

To be honest, I made this tumblr account to get to know the readers of this fanfiction more. I'm always blown away by your kind words and I really would like to get to know each and most of you. Also, a lot of people ask me questions about when I'll be updating next, where I'm currently at, etc. and I'm a bit tired answering each and every one of you... So I decided to make this!

Also, if you have any suggestions, I would _please_ ask you to send it to me somehow - reviewing, PM, or now, through Tumblr! They can really make a difference and of course, I will credit you for the idea! *hugs and kisses*

The blog ID is: MaekoTan

**Also! **As an apology for being 2 months late and a thank you for you all being so patient, I will try my best to have Chapter 5 uploaded in 2-3 weeks!

As always, please feel free to review and tell me what you think! Feedback and constructive criticisms are very much appreciated!

* * *

**Question: **How was your Christmas and what did you get? Did you do anything special for Boxing Day? If you don't celebrate Christmas, how was your New Years?

* * *

**Next Chapter: Lucy and Her Magic **


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